TeaChat Etiquette (Rules)

Sadly and sorry to say, experience has taught us that we must have rules.

Just a reminder of some general rules to keep in mind when posting on the board. Breaking the forum's rules may result in an appropriate level of discipline up to and including permanent banning from TeaChat.

A NEW rule, please size photos no larger than 640 pixels wide!!! 500 is actually much better. Attachment photos are max sized to 500 pixels wide.

Also, one account/user name per member!

1. Please remember that this is an English language forum dedicated to the discussion of tea and all other related items; teaware, tearooms, ready-to-drink, tea and food, etc. Please limit non-tea discussion to the 'Miscellany' Forum on the very bottom, or in the IM box to the right, if you must. Non English language comments should also be translated to English so all readers are able to understand.

2. Please take care to avoid posting similar content in different threads within a short period of time. Duplicate posts will be deleted!

3. Posts or private messages that attack or harass other members or moderators are not permitted. No spamming within the forum.

4. Posts, names, and avatars that contain offensive language, inappropriate sexual content, political or religious content/opinions, or condone illegal activities are not permitted and will be removed. Posting any portrayal of human nudity in the form of photos or links will be dealt with strongly and swiftly.

Your topic and the forum in general is not a personal soapbox. It is recommended that this type of subject matter be discussed in other venues besides TeaChat since this is not the place to debate politics, religion, etc.

This is not censorship. It is simply preventing flame wars, maintaining the peace on this forum, a place where members' political and religious beliefs are placed on a back-burner as we discuss tea related topics for the most part.

This also applies to the IM chatroom. AKA- don't be an jerk.

5. Please do not reply to posts more than a year old in date. If you find yourself interested in the topic, feel free to create a new one. We want to keep the conversation current and relevant.

6. The discussion of particular tea vendors is allowed, both good and bad experiences provided that the information is factual. False testimonials will be removed.

Sorry, new members with less than 10 posts and less than 30 days membership shall not post links. This will be strictly enforced! This is spam prevention but also to prevent members from being exposed to viruses, etc.

Vendor rebuttals to a negative review or post regarding same vendor are permitted, but same vendor must contact the Moderator prior to posting a rebuttal by either PMing Chip or emailing at teachatmoderator@yahoo.com. Posting a rebuttal without prior authorization will result in removal of offending post(s) and possible further disciplinary action.

7. Vendors may not place links or e-mail addresses on this forum leading to their businesses. This is not a place for free advertising (unless its through word-of mouth of members in good standing).

In addition, members shall not actively sell or offer to obtain products via posts, PMs or any other contact with members. The exception being TeaSwap which Moderators may determine particular offers not within the spirit of this program.

Vendors shall not use an avatar containing vendor's logo or representation.

8. Attempts to solicit funds or sell products in the name of a "good cause" are not permitted without the prior approval of the moderators.

9. Please abstain from the use of animated avatars.

10. Plagiarism violates laws of many nations, not to mention it is grossly unfair to the originating author. Therefore, we will endeavor to control abuse. For now, this will be "at the discretion of TeaChat Moderators/Administrators."

If you feel there is a case of plagiarism on TeaChat, please report it to a Moderator, do not engage in an argument or debate on the forum.

A moderator or administrator may decide to edit or delete offending posts and issue a warning to the offending member as well as possible banning!

Regardless of the source, be sure to cite/link your source!!! Also limit content quoted.

If you copy another members post on TeaChat, be sure to use quotes and credit the author.

***********************************************************************If you have any questions or concerns please PM Chip the Moderator.

A special exception/rule for our tea bloggers. We run into this probem quite a bit. We have always and want to continue to permit bloggers certain liberties since they are a valuable part of the tea community. However, we want bloggers to be fair to TeaChat in return for these liberties.

We will permit tea bloggers some leeway in regards to posting links to their tea-related blogs and promoting their blog in the general forum. However, this should not be the norm for a member to post a link and/or promote their blog, it should be an exception. Perhaps 1 out of 10 posts max.

HOWEVER, please do not simply say, "See my blog post on this topic." and then post a link. First of all, blogs expire for whatever reason which would leave nothing of relevance to the the topic. It also breaks the flow of a topic.

So, in order to qualify for this exception/rule, we expect quality content and then reference/link to your blog. We feel this is fair, mutually beneficial.

We will remind blogger members of this exception rule one time, successive violations will unfortunately be deleted without notice.

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